*~*Chapter 5*~*

I watched from the front porch as Jung Kook unloaded the cleaning supplies from the trunk of his car.

“…And don’t worry about the lawn; I’ll hire some professionals to come take care of it tomorrow morning,” he said as he handed me the last bag of cleaning supplies. 

I nodded as I took the bag from him.

He paused for a moment and just looked at me, sending my heart into a racing frenzy. At last, he said, “I’ll be back at 8 to pick you up, okay?”

I nodded once more.

“If there’s anything you need, just call me. I’ll try to call you back as soon as possible, okay?”

“Okay,” I croaked.

He smiled and ruffled my hair. “Thanks so much, Kyungi, I’ll buy you something delicious to eat tonight!”

“You don’t need to—” I started.

“It’s my treat,” he said, cutting me off. “I want to.”

“Okay, if you want to…” My words drifted off.

He grinned. “See you tonight!”

“Yeah. Bye.”

With that, he turned around and made his way back to his car. My heart sank with each step he took. I watched as he closed his trunk and got into his car. Once he started his car, he rolled down the window and waved one last time.

I waved back and watched with a heavy heart as the gate rolled opened, and he drove off. I remained on the porch and listened as the sound of his BMW grew quieter as the distance between us grew larger. The gate suddenly closed with a loud CLANG, startling me and sending me back to my senses.

With a sigh, I turned and made my way back into the house. This is it, Kyungi. 

I dug through the bags until I found an apron and large rubber gloves. I donned my cleaning uniform, grabbed a large garbage bag, and set about throwing away anything that was no longer of use. I headed for the kitchen first and stuffed the wilted bouquet into the large, black garbage bag. Then I emptied out the cupboards, tossing out everything except for the dishes and silverware. I threw out expired coffee and creamer, moldy bread, anything and everything that was expired and unusable. 

The usable things I placed in another bag and set them on the porch. Then I made my way towards the fridge. As soon as I pulled the door open, the stench of decayed food filled my nostrils. I gagged, slamming the fridge door shut. The whole fridge will have to be tossed out.

Next, I started on the drawers and also emptied them out. After that, I gathered all the curtains on the first floor and threw them into the washing machine. As they were washing, I began dusting. I dusted off the counters and tabletops, moving from the kitchen to the living room. I pushed the couches onto the porch and beat all the dust out of them as best as I could with a stick, all the while coughing and gagging on the giant cloud of dust. 

In the midst of gasping for air, I felt a pair of eyes watching me. I squinted up at the second-story window and spotted RM watching me. When he saw me looking at him, he vanished from sight. I coughed and turned back to the couches and continued beating them with the stick.

That’s for just watching and not helping me, I thought as I beat the couch harder than needed.

When I was satisfied that the couches were as clean as I could get them, I went back through the living room and finished dusting. Next, I removed the cobwebs in the corners. To finish it off, I vacuumed the floor and polished all the smooth surfaces before moving the couches back in.

Then I returned to the kitchen to finish up in there. I sanitized all the surfaces and washed all the dishes. I mopped the floor several times just to make sure that it really was clean. When the washing machine beeped to alert me that it was done, I took out all the curtains and hung them on the porch to dry. 

Exhausted and sweaty, I returned to the house. My heart leapt into my throat when I saw RM halfway down the stairs, surveying the house from up high. Our eyes met, and we just stared at each other until he finally turned away and headed back up the stairs.

“Wait!” I called after him.

He paused.

“I—I’m Kyungi,” I said. I felt as if I should at least introduce myself to him since I was working here now.

He didn’t answer and just disappeared back into his room.

I sighed and went into the living room, plopping down on the couch with an exhausted groan. I’ll take a rest for just a couple of minutes. I peeled off the gloves and apron and tossed them on the ground before lying down. Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep. 

I awoke to someone whispering my name and gently shaking my shoulders.

“Huh?” I asked, my eyes fluttering open.

Jung Kook smiled down at me. “Well, hello, sleepyhead,” he greeted.

“What are you doing here?” I asked in a dazed voice as I rubbed my eyes.

“It’s 8 p.m.”

“What?!” I bolted upright. “No! I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep!” I exclaimed. “I still have so much work left to do!”

“Chill out, Kyungi; you don’t have to do it all in one day,” he said with a chuckle.

“B-b-but—”

“You did a great job,” he said and stood up, surveying the place. “It looks like a brand new house!”

“Thanks,” I said sheepishly, my cheeks growing hot. 

Jung Kook looked back at me. “Should we get going then?”

“Oh, no, not yet; the curtains, they’re still outside.”

“You can just leave them and finish it tomorrow. It’s not going to rain.”

“But it just doesn’t feel right to just leave them out there!”

He chuckled. “Okay, take your time then. I’ll go tell RM we’re leaving.”

I nodded and watched as Jung Kook disappeared upstairs before I headed outside. The sun was already setting. There was just enough light for me to see my way on the porch. I pulled all the curtains down and returned them to their original spots inside the house. By the time I was done, night had fallen.

Jung Kook still hadn’t come down from RM’s room yet, so I made my way upstairs, carefully, as if to not startle anyone. As I approached the top of the staircase, I could hear RM and Jung Kook’s murmured voices coming from inside RM’s bedroom.

I cleared my throat and knocked gently on the door.

The voices grew hushed.

“Come in,” Jung Kook called.

But my feet remained rooted to the spot. “I’m finished,” I said. I was afraid to see RM. Even worse, I was afraid I would smell him.

The door creaked open, and Jung Kook smiled down at me. “Ready to go now?” he asked.

I nodded.

He pushed the door open wider, looking over his shoulder at RM. I held my breath, afraid the rancid smell would greet me if I breathed.

“Say bye to Kyungi,” he directed to his friend.

RM was seated on the edge of his bed, back turned towards me. He didn’t move.

Jung Kook looked back at me with a smile. “He’s shy,” he teased. “Bye, RM. See you tomorrow!” he called over his shoulder.

“Goodnight, RM,” I said, my voice hoarse. I wasn’t even sure if he heard me or not, but I didn’t care as I bolted down the stairs. Jung Kook followed me shortly. 

“Don’t be scared of him,” he said as he reached me at the bottom of the steps. “I know he’s a little intimidating, but he’ll open up eventually.”

I nodded, not daring to say a thing. My eyes fell upon the fridge. “Ah! The fridge! It needs to be thrown out. Everything has rotted inside and—”

“Okay. I’ll get some guys to remove it,” Jung Kook said without even a second thought.

I looked at him and nodded. Is he rich too? He never even seems to think twice about money.

We started towards the front door together.

“So, what should we eat tonight?” he asked as he led the way.

I opened my mouth to answer, but a yawn escaped before I could even stop it.

He laughed. “Okay, I get it.”

I looked down and blushed. I hadn’t even realized I was more tired than hungry.

“Let’s grab some pastries from a French bakery, and then I’ll take you home, okay?”

“Okay,” I said with a nod as I waited on the porch for him to switch off all the lights and lock the door. He led the way to his car and held the door open for me to get in. I thanked him as I sat down in the passenger seat.

“No; thank you,” he replied. “I don’t know what I would do if I hadn’t found you.”

I blushed at the words. He smiled and shut the door behind me. My eyes followed him as he got into the driver’s seat. He started the engine as the garage gate slid open.

“Let’s see…” he said as he backed out the driveway. “Will you be free Friday at noon?”

“Why?”

“So I can take you out to lunch.”

I looked at him in surprise. He laughed at my expression.

“Why are you so surprised?” he asked. “It’s to thank you for your hard work today since I can’t take you out tonight.”

“Ohh…” I looked down at my lap.

“So will you be free?”

“Yeah,” I replied. 

“Good. I’ll come pick you up then,” he said.

As we drove away, I looked in the car’s side mirror and stared at the reflection of RM’s house growing smaller in the distance. A light flicked on in the kitchen windows. I looked over my shoulder. Sure enough, a light had .

RM must be checking out how clean his house is now. A small smile crawled onto my lips. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

“What is it?” Jung Kook asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

I turned back around in my seat. “Oh, nothing,” I replied. But my heart felt light. RM might really return to his old self.